Serial Port extensions and multipliers

["noughtomate" <balraj_jassal@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi,

I'm new to the world of RS232 comms and just figured out I can talk to my
Comfort alarm system using Serial port. I use the mControl home automation
software have been thinking of writing a few scripts to automate arming and
dis-arming.

But aside from this, I am now considering control of my Amplifier, Sky-HD
box and others in my main lounge.

But this is all new ground to me... So a few newbie questions :
- Does serial DB9 support connectivity over a long distance ? The distance
between my NodeZero and AV Stack is about 15 meters. I've pre-wired 8 core
alarm cable, CAT6 and Co-Ax...

- Can serial comms be port- multiplied ? i.e. Single Serial port ->
multiple receiver devices ?

Whether the answer is yes or no, what's the workaround ?

I would imagine most Motherboards support maximum of 1 or two serial ports,
so how do you guys get over this if you want to control more than 2 devices
over a distance of say 15 meters ?

Thanks



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